Looking to fill the niche between a notebook and a palmtop? The Jornada 680 offers the features of a PC with pocket-size convenience. Loaded with software for personal information management and featuring a complete keyboard for touch typing, this sleek hand-held PC makes a great traveling companion. The Jornada 680 connects to your PC through a docking cradle via the PC's 9-pin serial port. Setup consists of following the Quick Start instruction sheet, attaching the battery, and connecting the docking cradle. In our tests, the entire process was intuitive, and software installation on our PC went without a hitch.
The keyboard on this small, portable unit is about two-thirds the width of a normal desktop model, so typing feels a little cramped at first. Taking quick notes and memos for testing was easy, but composing longer documents would not be practical.
File synchronization with the desktop "partner" PC occurs through a serial cable and by running Microsoft Windows CE Services 2.2 with ActiveSync. The Partnership Wizard guides you through establishing a connection and synchronizing shared files. When the two units are connected, you can access the Jornada's desktop as an ordinary window on the partner PC's Windows desktop.
We set up the Jornada to connect to an ISP through its internal modem and to send and receive email through the ISP's POP3 server. This process was easy--we just ran the Make New Connection wizard and answered its questions. (Make sure that you have your ISP's e-mail protocol information handy.) Surfing the Web is fun and fast, although you have to get used to the half-height screen when viewing Web pages.
The printed User's Guide is thorough, clearly written, and well organized. The Jornada's online Help is more limited but covers the most important topics. The pleasant, intuitive user interface precluded the need to consult the documentation for most tasks. --Mike Brown
Pros:
- Large, bright CSTN color display
- 7-hour battery
- Built-in modem
- Loaded with software
Cons:
- Larger and heavier than a palm-size PC
- Does not include a 9-to-25 pin serial port adapter
